


What's Mine Is Yours

by PunkInPinkGlitterVLD (PunkInPinkGlitter)



Series: This Love is Ours [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura's Alive, Angst, Clone is Galra, Clone is a literal Puppy, Clone purrs, Cuddling, Flustered Shiro (Voltron), Gay Disaster Shiro (Voltron), M/M, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Shiro (Voltron) Has a Clone, Shirocest, abuse (gladitorial ring), bed sharing, clone's arm is intact, graphic depictions of ptsd, protective clone, self harm (discussed), sexual abuse (discussed), so fuck canon, touch starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-08-10 02:57:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20128222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PunkInPinkGlitter/pseuds/PunkInPinkGlitterVLD
Summary: Shiro finds out he has a clone that survived, but he's nothing like he expected.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had an amazing time writing for the Shirocest bang. My artist, [Impending Exodus](https://impendingexodus.tumblr.com/) is aboslutely the sweetest person I've come across and was so supportive the whole time I was doing this fic. I will individually link each art she made in the bottom notes so you can show her your love!  
Also a special thank you to [Nihilist Shiro](https://twitter.com/NihilistShiro) who beta'd this for me. <3 You're amazing EJ!

“Coming up on a Galra warship.” N7 tapped away at her screen. “Matt, there’s no information from the Galra databases about this ship except that there’s an exceptionally high transfer rate. Shall we hail them?”

Matt swirled dramatically in his captain’s chair, making nearby crewmembers roll their eyes.

“Yeah, sure, why not. We’re gonna be boarding them anyway. Let’s see if they’ll surrender peacefully.”

The crewman at the communications station typed furiously on the screen in front of them.

“Ready when you are, Sir.”

Before Matt could say anything, a ping from the communications station distracted the crewman. 

“Incoming hail, Sir. It’s from the warship.”

Matt’s eyes flew open in shock. “Uh, yeah. P-put them through.”

A few more clicks and a screen appeared in front of the window, showing a galra commander in full armor and a helmet covering his face.

“I am Commander Vhex. By the Galra Empire: who are you and why are you disturbing us?”

“I’m Matthew Holt of the Voltron Alliance. The Galra Empire has fallen and we’ve been searching the known universe for stray Galra ships. You can either surrender and be reintegrated into the newly established peaceful society, or you can fight us, we’ll win, and then you’ll be arrested and put into prison and rehabilitation programs.”

Commander Vhex didn’t seem to flinch, but cocked his head slightly. 

“The Galra Empire has been in ruin for years. What proof do you have that you’ve established a peaceful empire in its place?”

Matt shrugged. “Well, Voltron killed Zarkon, Lotor, and Sendak, then Honerva sacrificed herself for an alternate reality to keep our reality alive. Beyond that, Warlords Ezor and Zethrid are aiding the Blade of Marmora in humanitarian efforts across the universe for the past few months. Anything else you need for me to persuade you?”

The Galra stood in thought. “No, that is enough, as we also have had no communication for months with other Galra Warlords in this sector. They seemed to have fallen silent.”

Matt nodded. “Yeah, we’ve been cleaning up in the area the last two months. So. Your answer?”

Commander Vhex saluted. “This vessel is yours.”

A few shouts came from the other Galra surrounding the commander on his bridge.

“You scum know what we do,” Vhex yelled as he turned to face his opposing subordinates. “I refuse to fight and risk lives. If you want to fight, go to Bay 7, where we will invite the party. I will allow you to die. Speak up. Who here wants to die tonight?”

The ones who had protested quieted and shuffled their feet, toeing the ground.

“That’s what I thought.” He turned back to Matt. “Sir, you are welcome to board. If you wish to make it easier, we can do this on the ground of planet Strore below us.”

Matt nodded. “We’ll send you coordinates and will meet you down there. Remember- anyone who is hostile towards any of my crew will be arrested and not eligible for immediate reintegration.”

“I understand. I will make the announcement and will meet you there. Vrepit Sa!”

The screen blinked out of existence as the feed ended.

Matt looked to his small crew and smiled. “I guess we’ve got to call for backup. That’s a big ship.”

Olia turned from her station. “Do you think we should call the Blades or Atlas?”

Matt tapped his chin in thought. “Let’s do both. The Blade of Marmora can send in more bodies and we’ll need them to be able to handle everyone, but the Atlas can provide extra support in transporting them elsewhere if we need to.”

Olia started barking orders at the crew, sending messages to those in the immediate area to ask for help. The Blade of Marmora responded quickly, saying they would be planetside in less than a varga. The Atlas wasn’t far behind, saying they’d provide backup and will be in the atmosphere in three vargas. Matt had his crew send the coordinates to the Galra ship to meet up after the Blades arrived, not wanting to be overwhelmed once they landed.

Matt sighed and slumped in his chair. He was in for a long day.

It was late in the evening before either party landed on Strore. Matt and Kolivan were directing the change over, cataloguing the soldiers as they left the massive warship.

“I think the only ones left are the high chain of command,” Matt mused. “Commander Vhex said something about being the last one off the ship.”

He checked the log count of how many soldiers were said to be on board versus the manifest. Only four left.

Kolivan nodded, making his way to the ship. “We will meet them on board then. I normally have more trouble with those of higher ranks.”

A beep from Matt’s data pad rang out.

Matt opened it to see an incoming message from Commander Vhex.

“Mr. Holt. I had some difficulties with my higher ranking officers. They are unconscious, and may require medical attention. Would you mind sending some people in? I will attach a map so it is easy for you to get to our location.”

“Sounds good. How many are down?”

“Three. I will be the last Galra off the ship.”

“Understood,” Matt said. His data pad chirped again as it downloaded a map of the war ship. “We’ll be there in a few dobashes.”

“Vrepit Sa.”

Matt shrugged at Kolivan as the feed ended. “I guess we need what, six to carry them out, a medic to make sure they’re stable, some restraints in case they wake up, and a security team in case Vhex changes his mind?”

Kolivan nodded. “A team of ten will be acceptable. The security will be myself, Krolia, and Keith. You can handle negotiations with Vhex should they go south.”

“Oh, Keith’s back? Cool, cool.” He brushed his fingers through his hair nervously. “Yeah, let’s get everything set up. And Vhex knows me, so… here’s hoping.”

He crossed his fingers and smiled, Kolivan looking at him as if he’d made a meaningless gesture. “I will call the Blades for help. You call the medic.”

They separated and set about their own duties. Surprisingly, finding a medic that would tend to the supposedly hostile Galra was harder than gathering the others from the Blade’s ship. Exhausted, and with a shaking medic trailing behind him, Matt returned to the ship’s entrance where Kolivan and his team were waiting.

“Well, let’s go,” said Matt. “I’ll lead until we get to the room, then Kolivan, Krolia, and Keith can go in and make sure the area’s secure.”

They all nodded in agreement and followed Matt’s lead. They marched through the halls, pausing as they came to major intersections to make sure no robotic sentries were lurking about. When they reached the door, Matt stood to the side letting Kolivan open the door.

Kolivan, Krolia, and Keith jumped into the room, prepared for an ambush, but were met with three Galra unconscious on the floor and another typing away at a console.

“Are you Vhex?” asked Kolivan, lowering his blade.

“I am,” he stopped typing and turned around, slowly raising his hands as he stood. “I expect you’ll want to search me for weapons? They’re all on the console to my right, but you’re welcome to make sure.”

Kolivan and Keith approached, Keith keeping his blade out at the ready. Kolivan searched Vhex for weapons as Krolia looked over the console where all his weapons had been laid out.

“Impressive,” she remarked, picking up a blaster.

“Thank you. They’re not all mine. I removed the weapons from them as well.”

Kolivan grunted his approval that there were no weapons on Vhex’s person.

“Matt, you may bring the rest in,” Kolivan called.

Matt brought the rest of the squad in, who quickly attended to their jobs. He strolled over to the massive Galra and stuck his hand out.

“Nice to finally meet you, Commander.”

Commander Vhex shook his hand. “Good to meet you as well. Let me shut down everything but the basic systems, and we can leave.”

It took no longer than half a varga before they were back out of the ship.

Vhex sighed as he felt the fresh air on his fur, his tail twitching, betraying his happiness.

Matt kept chattering about what was different about what they would be doing now that it was peacetime. Vhex stopped.

“Matt, let me inform you of what my crew did. We did not do as most Galra did, conquering worlds by force. We did humanitarian efforts, helping planets who needed it.” Matt stood surprised starting at Vhex. Most Galra were against humanitarian efforts. “Most in the Empire thought what we did was a waste. I would rather help and instill peace, working with the native populace, than ruling with an iron fist with the way to rule paved with blood. My most loyal crew members agree with me. I will provide you a list of their names, as they will be the easiest to integrate into the Voltron Alliance.”

Matt nodded. “That sounds great, honestly. Anyone we need to look out for?”

Vhex shook his head. “Just the ones who are unconscious. They will be the most trouble.”

He raised his hands and unhooked his helmet, relishing the feel of his ears popping free. “Oh, that’s better.” He looked down at Matt, who was frozen with a look of shock on his face. “What? Is there something in my fur?”

Matt quickly grabbed for his data pad without looking away from the Galra. He flicked his eyes down quickly as he dialed up the Atlas, returning just as fast to Commander Vhex. The data pad beeped as the call connected.

“Shiro?”

“Matt! How’s everything going on Strore?”

“Good, good. Um. You need to get down here. Now.”

“Why? You just said everything’s going well.”

“Yeah, it is. You need to see this.”

“Matt. What’s going on.”

Matt couldn’t get his words together. Instead, he snapped a picture and sent it to Shiro. A long silence stretched until Shiro spoke.

“I’ll be down in half a varga.”

The call ended and Vhex’s ears twitched as his tail wrapped around his leg. “What’s wrong?”

“NOTHING!” Matt gasped quickly. He cleared his throat and tried to calm himself. “Nothing’s wrong. Actually, we’re going to need to get you to medical.”

“Can I ask why?”

“Well, we need to do a test. We won’t draw blood, just a hair sample will do. But we need to check your DNA.”

Vhex tilted his head to the side and Matt immediately thought of a puppy. “Why do you need to check my DNA?”

Matt scrubbed his face with his hand before getting out his data pad and pulled up a picture of Shiro. “Because you look identical to him and we know he was cloned. I think you might be a clone variation of him.”

Vhex looked at the picture of the human on the data pad. It was like looking at a human version of himself. But that’s wasn’t possible. He sank to his knees, his arms and tail wrapping around himself.

“What… What’s going on? I-” Tears flooded from his eyes. He never could remember much before being in the arena. Just bits of emotions and flashes of colors.

Warm arms surround him as he started to tremble. He startled back, but Matt was still hugging him.

“It’ll be alright. You’re alive, which is more than most of the other clones can say.” Matt held him away slightly. “You’re still you. I know finding out you’re a clone is life changing, though. But think of this, you’ve just found a brother you didn’t know you had.”

Vhex sniffled. “Okay.” He couldn’t think about it. If he thought about it, he was going to break down and Galra don’t break down. He stood up and followed Matt to the medical area, sheets drawn to allow for some semblance of privacy.

Vhex sat on a table, curling into himself as he waited. A medic walked over and plucked a hair from his behind his ear, causing him to jump and whimper. His eyes stayed glued to the ground as he heard people muttering and talking around him. Kolivan walked over and introduced himself, asking if Vhex needed anything.

He didn’t know so he just shrugged in response. How was he supposed to understand any of this? How was he supposed to know what he needed now?

The tent flap opened again and Vhex heard a sharp inhale. He chanced a glance up to see Shiro staring at him, several others behind him.

Vhex kept his tail curled around him as the other man approached. He stopped a foot away, grey eyes searching golden ones.

“What do you remember?” was all Shiro asked.

“Nothing much before the arena. They said I was replacing the Champion. I ended up working my way up through the ranks to where I am now. I thought I earned my freedom.”

Shiro stood in shock in front of the Galra, taking him in. He had the same scar across the bridge of his nose (_ Must have had to wear the same muzzle, _ Shiro thought), and his eyes were similar-the sclera golden instead of white like his, but the irises still his shade of grey. Past that, Vhex didn’t have his arm replaced, and Shiro was sceptical that they shared any other scars other than anything caused in childhood.

Vhex’s tail flicked with nervousness.

“You’re not going to put me in prison, are you?”

Shiro stepped back. “Of course not. Why would we do that?” He took another step forward and placed his hand on Vhex’s shoulder. “You’ve done nothing worth being put in prison for.”

Vhex leaned into the touch, Shiro’s hand warm and heavy on his shoulder. “How do you know that? I’m nothing but a clone. I have no memories before I was already fully grown. I’m just an experiment gone wrong.”

Shiro frowned and looked at the others in the tent. “Give us a few?” Vhex flinched at the question, but didn’t move as the rest of the people filed out. He looked down at his feet, trying to keep his breathing even.

“You’re not just a clone,” Shiro started gently. “You’ve worked yourself out of the arena and are now commander of an entire fleet-”

“It’s barely a fleet,” Vhex interrupted.

Shiro stared blankly at the Galra. “You command a fleet of Galra who respect you. You’ve done that on your own. You didn’t have any help with that. You are your own person and should be proud of what you’ve done. You’re not _ ‘just a clone’ _.”

Vhex relaxed slightly, his tail calming and his ears perked up a little.

Shiro took a deep breath. “You’re going to be staying on the Atlas for the next few weeks until we can get to Earth, so why don’t you stay with me? We can keep each other company when I’m not working, and having the other close seems like a good thing. We can talk about what you remember, or what we each experienced in the arena, if you’re ready for that kind of thing. Or not at all. It’s up to you.”

Vhex’s ears pinned back again. “Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude.”

“It’s not intruding if I offer, is it?” Shiro dropped his hands to his side and smiled. “I’d love to learn more about you, but the only time I seem to have anymore is when I’m getting ready to sleep.”

Vhex tried to mirror back Shiro’s smile, but it came out more as a grimace. “As long as you’re sure.”

Shiro hopped up on the table to sit next to Vhex. He was a whole head shorter than the clone, barely coming up to his shoulders, but Vhex seemed smaller.

“Of course I’m sure.”

Vhex couldn’t do anything but nod. He liked the thought of being near someone else. In all his years working his way through the ranks, he’d never been able to be close to anyone. He always scared potential mates away.

Maybe Shiro would be different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Direct link to Ex's amazing [art](https://impendingexodus.tumblr.com/post/186802776857/cover-art-for-punkinpinkglitters-amazing-fic).


	2. Chapter 2

Shiro leaned back in his seat, looking across his sparse office. Sure, the walls were lined with books and data pads, but he didn’t have anything personal in his office aside from his gym bag. But even the ratty old bag wasn’t  _ that _ personal; it was the Garrison standard issue duffle bag all officers got.

It had been almost two weeks since they brought Commander Vhex on board. All other members of Vhex’s crew had been transferred to other ships to start reintegration training.

Shiro scrubbed his human hand down his face. He’d been in paperwork hell trying to manage where everyone had gone, and whenever he got back to his room at night, he’d come face to face with his clone.

It wasn’t something he had gotten used to yet.

A knock at the door pulled him out of his thoughts. “Enter.”

The door swished open and Keith popped his head in. “Hey, you busy?”

Shiro smiled. “Nah, just winding down for the day. I was gonna hit the gym in a bit.”

“Great,” Keith beamed. “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.” He plopped down on Shiro’s desk, scrunching some of the paperwork. Shiro looked up and sighed.

“Okay, shoot.”

“I’ve been doing this great thing on Kolivan’s ship, so I programmed the training bots over here with that program. It’s almost like we were Voltron again.”

“You’re still part of Voltron, Keith.”

“Yeah, but the training. It’s almost like what was on the castleship,” he shrugged. “Close enough, at least.” He stared at Shiro. “You should give it a try.”

Shiro pushed away from his desk. “Sounds good. What’s the program titled?”

“Keith Blade 0420-9669.”

Shiro gave the most deadpanned look he could muster at Keith. “You programed it like that, didn’t you.”

Keith tried hard to suppress his giggling, but it didn’t help that Shiro burst into laughter shortly after. “Of course I did. It made you laugh, right? So totally worth it.”

“Is it really named ‘Keith Blade’ whatever?”

“It is and Matt put something on it so you can’t change it.”

Shiro muttered a curse which sent Keith back into his giggle fit.

“Do you want me to tell Vhex about it? You both could probably use some training together-see if you fight alike.”

“Yeah, go ahead and let him know. I’ve been meaning to get him to the training decks.” Shiro trailed off. It wasn’t like he hadn’t tried, but he’d been so doggone tired that he would just go straight to bed when he got back to his quarters.

Shiro jolted as Keith placed his hand on his shoulder. “Hey, if you wanna talk about the whole clone thing… again, you can come to me. You know I’m here for you.”

“I know, thanks Keith. I’m gonna go run that program. Just have Vhex come in when he gets there.”

Keith hopped off the desk and practically skipped to the door. “Cool. Let me know what you think of it.” He stepped out of the office leaving Shiro alone again.

Shiro looked at the gym bag. He  _ had _ been working all day. He figured an hour on the training deck wouldn’t be too bad. It would probably lift his mood too.

He headed out, locking the door behind him, and went straight to the locker rooms. He changed quickly into a tank top and leggings- Garrison issued sweats be damned.

Making sure the training room was empty, he booted up Keith’s simulation. Three bots dropped down from the ceiling.

In the blink of an eye, all three lunged at Shiro, who ducked and lept out of the way. He stood back up to see one of the bots coming right for him again while the other two stayed back. He punched and kicked when the bot got close enough, but the blows never seemed to land. The hairs on the back of his neck stood as one of the other two bots came forward to fight. He kept dodging their hits, left, right, left again. He still couldn’t hit. His floating arm shot towards the third bot when it started advancing, but he missed.  _ How did I fucking miss? _

The blows came faster and he began feeling more frantic. He tried to keep out of their way, just barely dodging the kicks and flinging arms.

Strong arms wrapped around his chest, pulling him back.  _ I thought there were only three- I’m gonna die! _ He thrashed, sending his mechanical arm flying towards whatever caught him when he heard a distinctive  _ oof! _ come from behind him. The thing holding him crumpled to the ground and loosened its grip. He jumped up and away, ready to send his arm back again. Turning around, he wasn’t ready to see Vhex curled up on the ground, holding his side, with Keith above him.

Keith’s mouth was moving and his arms flinging, but Shiro couldn’t hear anything over the blood rushing in his ears. He froze, eyes wide.

“-you stop? We need a medic!”

A wet cough echoed from Vhex. “No we don’t. I’m fine.” He sat up, still clutching his side. “Shiro, are you okay?”

Keith strode forward to sand in front of Shiro. When there was no reaction, he waved his hand in front of his face. “Shiro. Hey!” He snapped his fingers.

Shiro blinked twice before coming back to himself. “What happened?” His eyes landed on the Galra. “Are yo-”

“I’m fine,” Vhex spat as he rolled over to get up. “You were fighting thin air. You weren’t listening to us, so I decided to stop you myself. Keith said it was a bad idea, and he was right.” He rubbed his side. “Your arm packs quite a punch.”

Keith put his hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I- I’ll be fine.” His eyes fell to the floor. He felt so ashamed that he let that program get the better of him. To be fighting nothing…

“I’ll take the program down. I shouldn’t have made it on the Atlas in the first place. It’s a hard thing for most Blade members.”

“You… made this?” asked Vhex once he got to his feet. “ _ You _ put Shiro in danger like that?” A growl rumbled from deep in Vhex’s chest. “This is  _ your _ fault!”

Keith turned, squaring his shoulders. “We’ve trained together for years! I didn’t think  _ one _ program was going to do that to him! Fuck off!” A growl echoed through Keith’s chest that startled the other two.

Vhex’s ears flattened against his skull as he bared his teeth. This got Shiro moving in between them, putting his hands on their chests and shoving them apart.

“Enough you two!” His voice reverberated as the others stopped their growling match. “I am an adult. I can take care of myself. Keith didn’t cause this. I did. I thought I could handle it.” He dropped his hands to his sides. “I’m sorry I worried you two.” They all stood there for a moment before Shiro took a deep breath. “I’m going to go shower then go to bed. I’m sorry, Vhex, but I don’t think we’ll have our evening chat tonight.” He turned around and left, leaving Vhex and Keith standing in silence.

Vhex toed the ground. “I’m sorry. I just- I don’t like seeing him like that.”

“I don’t either. I’m sorry too, for what it’s worth. I didn’t know that was going to do that to him.”

An awkward tension filled the air between them.

“Can I ask,” Vhex started hesitantly, “what are you to him?”

Keith’s mouth gaped open. “Uh… we- we’re best friends. Why?”

“Has he talked to you about me? I mean, the whole clone thing?”

Keith chuckled humorlessly. “He’s already done the whole cloned-freak out a while ago, so no, no freak out if that’s what you’re asking.” He looked at Vhex and was surprised with how small he looked. “You’re really expressive for a Galra, you know that?”

Vhex’s ears twitched as his tail wrapped protectively around his leg. “It’s why I always wore a helmet unless I was in negotiations with the planet leaders. I could show them that we meant that we weren’t going to kill them.”

“Don’t let Lance get you to play poker, then.”

“Poker?”

“Ohhh you’re gonna love it. Shiro does. But he has a better poker face than you. Why don’t we give him some time to cool off and I’ll teach you how to play? That way when you play Lance, you can embarrass the hell out of him.”

Vhex smirked. “Lead the way.”

It was late before Vhex stumbled back into his shared quarters. He had been staying on a spare mattress in Shiro’s living room since he was brought on board the Atlas. He and Keith had become quick friends, bonding over Shiro and being at least  _ partially  _ Galra. Vhex revealed that the DNA testing, while it  _ mostly _ matched Shiro’s DNA, when compared to his pre-Kerberos DNA, roughly 69% of his genetic code was re-written to Galra standards. Keith told him about how Shiro came to be in this new clone body and their fight in the factory. Vhex thought about it as he climbed into his bed. It couldn’t have been easy, finding out your consciousness was in a clone’s body.  _ He _ was still coming to terms that he was a clone, but it explained a lot of things and, with each passing day, it got easier to handle.

He settled in, not bothering to let Shiro know he had come back. Shiro’s bedroom door was cracked open and there was no light shining around it. Even the default night lights of the night cycle weren’t on. He thanked his Galra genetics that he could see in no-light. He was sure he would have bumped into the coffee table that night had it not been for that.

He brought the sheet up over his shoulder and sighed. He knew today had been rough on Shiro. It’s always rough, but having such an attack especially while training, lashing out at a loved one and a clone, Vhex could understand Shiro needing a night off from everything. He rolled onto his side, hissing when a sharp pain ripped through him. Right. That. He flipped to his  _ other _ side and heard a soft noise. His ears perked, trying to pinpoint where it came from.

It came again, a groan.

_ Shiro _ .

Vhex threw off his sheet and padded quickly over to the door, swishing it fully open. Shiro was tossing on the bed, a sheen of sweat on his body. His Altean arm was gripping the headboard tightly, the metal bending slightly under it, his other hand tearing the sheet with how tight his grip was. Vhex walked over, stopping close. He kneeled next to the bed, not wanting to be in Shiro’s direct sight when he woke up. His tail slowly lifted and moved towards Shiro’s face. He watched carefully as he brushed the tuft at the end across Shiro’s nose. His nose twitched, but so did the rest of Shiro. Vhex repeated the gesture, successfully waking the other man.

Shiro shot up in the bed, looking around to see if the demons of his dreams followed him. He saw nothing in the black of the dark. “Lights, night mode,” he spoke between ragged breaths.

Something long swooshed by, grabbing his attention. He turned quickly, seeing the tail retreat to behind Vhex, who was looking up with large golden eyes.

“You were having a nightmare. I didn’t want to scare you, so…” he swished his tail again.

Shiro sat there, dumbstruck. He shook his head and put his head in his hands. “Thank you. I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“I have them too, it’s okay.”

Shiro stopped breathing at that. He didn’t realize. How many nightmares had Vhex had on the other side of that wall?

“Was it the arena? You’ll feel better if you talk about it, I know I do.” said Vhex, wrapping his tail around his arm. When Shiro didn’t respond, he shrank back a little bit. “It’s okay, you don’t have to answer. Do you want to do something to get your mind off of it?”

Shiro nodded. He didn’t want to talk about it- didn’t feel ready to talk about it. It was a painful reminder that he was not the man he used to be- physically and mentally, and he didn’t want to unload on Vhex.

“A game? Keith’s been trying to teach me poker tonight. I’m not good, but I think I have the basics.”

Shiro shrugged. Poker involved talking which would lead to pokes about his nightmare. So no.

“A movie? You can pick. I don’t know which ones you’d like out of your own collection. Maybe that Loter one?”

_ Loter? Oh! LotR! Lord of the Rings! _

Shiro nodded and got up, walking into the living area. He settled onto the couch, setting up the movie. Shiro turned to look for his clone, and saw him standing a few feet behind the couch, his ears drooping and tail wrapped around his leg.

“Is… is it okay if I join you?”

Shiro’s heart broke. He could only guess what Vhex was thinking. “Yeah, come on.”

Vhex’s ears perked up and his tail loosened its grip as he sat on the other side of the couch. He was careful to not touch Shiro, not because he didn’t want to,  _ Bob _ he did, but he didn’t want Shiro to get sent back into another panic attack or nightmare because of a stray Galra in Shiro’s room, on his couch, in the middle of the night.

About the time the Hobbits made it to Bree, Vhex was slightly snoring on his end of the couch. Shiro paused the movie and nudged him.

“I think I can go back to bed. Thank you for doing this for me.”

Vhex smiled. “Any time. Please feel free to talk to me about your nightmares. I know a lot of what you went through.” His ears drooped again.

Shiro leaned over and wrapped the Galra in a hug. “I know. Thank you.” He let go before Vhex could return the hug and walked back to bed. He kept the night lights on and waited until he heard Vhex’s soft snores from the other room before he relaxed enough to sleep. Just Vhex being there made him feel safer. He would talk to him in the morning about the nightmare if he could remember it. He hadn’t thought about being so vulnerable to another person since Adam. Shiro tried to settle the butterflies that invaded his chest. He couldn’t wait for the next morning now, even though he’d probably be a sleep-deprived zombie. He smiled. He could give Vhex his favorite coffee. He’d probably like it the same way as Shiro- either black or so sweet that it’d give someone cavities. Shiro drifted off to sleep, smile still plastered on his face.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a week since they arrived back on Earth. Vhex looked in wonder at all of the greenery blossoming across the planet.

“I’ve very rarely seen this much color,” he remarked as they stood in the star room- the only place on the Atlas other than the bridge with floor to ceiling windows. “The planets I’ve been assigned to lately all seemed to be dying or in shades of brown. For a while there, I thought that was the only color besides purple.”

Shiro chuckled and placed a warm hand on Vhex’s back. “I get it. It’s always amazing coming home, though. I miss the colors. Grey and white can only be interesting so many times.”

Vhex looked down at Shiro in awe.

“Will you show me? The colors down there?”

“We can go to a botanical garden, if you’d like. It’s where we grow a variety of flowers and bushes. They’re generally full of color.”

Vhex looked back out of the window. “That sounds amazing.”

Shiro’s data pad beeped softly.

“I guess I have to go. We’re going to be landing soon.”

“I understand. I used to command a ship too, remember?”

They smiled at each other and Shiro nodded before walking away, leaving Vhex to stare out of the window.

Shiro bumped his shoulder into Vhex’s arm as they left the botanical gardens. The wonder that filled Vhex’s eyes as they toured it was something Shiro never wanted to forget. His gaze glittered as he flitted from flower to flower, reading the placards about each one and talking excitedly to Shiro as they compared flowers to the plants Vhex had seen on other planets.

Vhex looked down, a light blush high on his cheeks. He smiled. “That was fun. Is there anything else we can do today?”

Shiro tapped his chin with thought. “Maybe we can walk through the marketplace? There are a lot of new stores that have opened. And I’d like to pick up some apples on our way back to the Atlas.”

“I like apples. The purple ones are my favorite.”

“I think you’re thinking of grapes, Vhex. Little things the size of your thumb?”

“Yes! Those!”

“Well, apples are the size of Keith’s fist and red or green.”

“Oh, the ones that taste like pharnexles?”

Shiro stared at him blankly. “You’ll have to introduce me to those.”

It only took a few minutes to get to the marketplace; the shops were set up in the ruins of the old city. They walked from place to place, Shiro pointing at shiny objects like a pigeon, and Vhex asking about what things were.

They bought a few items, including the apples Shiro wanted, when people started rushing passed them. A loud bang behind them caught their attention.

Vhex tried to move aside out of the shoving crowd while Shiro yelled as they were separated.

People around Vhex started jeering and screaming, pushing him against a wall as he tried to shrink away. Lights started flashing just past where the crowd was converging.

Vhex closed his eyes and covered his ears with his hands. He could feel his heart rate spike and his fur matte with a cold sweat.

He opened his eyes and he stumbled back in fear. He was back in the arena. The paved path below him had turned into a dirt floor, spattered with blood and viscera. He looked around, spotting one alien dead on the ground and another who had staggered back into hiding behind a pillar. He felt the blood dripping down his cheek from a wound back up in his hairline, as pain shot up his leg from another injury. Vhex looked in his hand to hope his weapon would be good enough this time, and he was barely hopeful; the broken end of a blade was cutting into his hand where he desperately tried to grip it.

He felt the fur on the back of his neck stand up as a growl ripped through the stadium. Turning, he saw a large creature with four arms crawling towards him. Lights from the crowd started flashing as the spectators started taking pictures of the fight. Vhex’s eyes constricted to slits as he growled back at the creature. He wouldn’t go down. Not again.

He tried raising the arm with his broken weapon in it to find himself frozen. The crowd cheered louder as the creature charged.

Vhex! Vhex! Vhex!

He was going to die. He couldn’t lift his arms. Why couldn’t he lift his arms?

Vhex! _ Vhex! _

He snarled again, a last ditch effort to try to scare the creature away.

“_Vhex! _”

A cold hand cupped his cheek, snapping out of his memory. The crowd was gone and Shiro was crouched in front of him. Vhex shook as Shiro watched him.

“I-” Vhex hiccuped. “I need to leave.”

Shiro nodded. “Let’s get somewhere safe, okay? I promise you’ll be okay.”

Vhex stood up (when had he sat down?) and walked back to their hoverbike with Shiro’s arm wrapped around his waist. The walk was quiet as Vhex’s mind raced. The words Shiro spoke since they started walking sounded like he was underwater, muddied and blurred.

Shiro looked on with worry when Vhex barely responded. He touched Vhex’s arm when they finally got to the bike, ready to bring him home. He just hoped Vhex would talk to him afterwards.

The touch brought Vhex back to the present. He held on to Shiro as they flew the bike back to the Atlas, trying not to whimper as he placed his forehead against Shiro’s shoulder.

They boarded with no issue and Shiro led them back to their room. He locked the door behind them and watched as Vhex collapsed on the small couch, putting his head in his hands as he continued to shake.

Shiro sat next to him and put his hand on the Galra’s back. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

Vhex looked at the smaller man and sobbed with tears streaming down his face. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Remember what you said after my panic attack a few weeks ago?”

Vhex sniffed and leaned over, cradling his head in Shiro’s neck again. “I don’t want to remember though.”

“I know. But maybe for once, talking about it would make you feel better. Especially since I know exactly what you went through with the arena.”

The silence drew thick between them. Shiro moved his hand up to rub under one of Vhex’s ears.

“They changed it, you know.”

“Hmm?” Shiro’s eyebrows shot up. “Changed what?”

“The rewards. You were the Champion. But before you left, the rewards for winning was your life and better medical treatment. A few weeks- months-” he sighed. “Some time after I was brought in, they changed it.”

Vhex pulled away from Shiro and curled in on himself. His tail wrapped around his waist and his ears flattened against his head.

Shiro dropped his hand into his lap, waiting patiently for Vhex to continue.

“The bigger the monster- the harder it was to kill, the more people wanted to spend some one-on-one time with the new winner. There were people who would buy my time who wanted to do nothing but shower me with praise and love, washing me, giving me medical treatment. But then there were others. Others who used me.”

Shiro stopped breathing.

“I couldn’t refuse. Refusal meant death and I didn’t want to die. After a while, though, I did. I didn’t care what happened, the fuckings, the beatings, the arena. None of it mattered anymore and I was numb to it. Then, Lotor freed the gladiator pits. The only people who fought in the arena were those who wanted to and those who wanted their freedom were given a decent rank. It’s how I earned my ship.” Vhex drew in a shuddering breath. “I keep remembering. The crowd today, the flashing lights. It made me go back to when I was in the arena. I want to stop remembering, Takashi.”

Shiro grabbed the Galra and brought him into a hug, and Vhex gripped Shiro’s shirt tightly, sobbing into his shoulder.

Shiro carded through his hair, trying not to cry. “I want to stop remembering too. I remember the thoughts after my panic attacks, how bad they used to be. How I’d want to end it all. But I have people to live for. I have things I want to do and I don’t want to give in just yet. It’s hard, Vhex, really, _ really _ hard. And I don’t think they’ll ever stop completely. But you can’t let your past win, you know? You’ve come so far and I’m so proud of you.”

It took a few moments for Vhex’s sobs to turn into sniffles. “I don’t have anyone. I’m all alone.”

“You have me.” Shiro nosed into Vhex’s ear. “You’re not alone, not anymore.”

Vhex stilled. His mind spiraled. He wanted nothing more than to believe he’d never be alone again, but it was a concept he never allowed himself to think of before.

“I think I should get ready for bed,” he sighed as he sat up. A hurt look flashed across Shiro’s face as he looked away.

He nodded. “I have to go to double check a few things for a meeting tomorrow. Will you be okay?”

Vhex stood up and stalked towards his section of the dresser. “I’ll be fine. Go, you have important things to do.”

Vhex waited until he heard the door swoosh closed behind Shiro before he changed into a t shirt and pajama pants. He sat on the bed he was given and fiddled with his tail in his hands.

He’d always prided himself on his ability to be alone, but somehow in the past few weeks, Shiro has worked his way into every little crack in his defenses and repaired them like kintsukuroi, or whatever that thing was that Shiro told him about.

He fell back against the small pillow and sighed. He didn’t really want to sleep. With his history, he knew that he’d have nightmares the second he passed out. He tossed and turned, feigning sleep when he heard Shiro return. He heard the man pause before he walked into his bedroom. 

Vhex tried to slow his breathing as he focused to hear Shiro walk around his room, preparing himself to bed. 

At some point he slept. He dreamed of blood and lights and screams. He woke up to a dark room with blue light on down near the floor. His fur was matted with sweat and tears. If only he could shake the nightmares. He shook as he hugged his knees and his tail thumped against the bed. He couldn’t get back to sleep.

Vhex’s mind raced, thinking of anything that would even help him get back to sleep. The only thing he could think of was Shiro. He stayed up with him during his other nightmares, but _ Bob _ did he want to sleep. He carefully got up and padded across the living room and into Shiro’s bedroom. He crossed his arms as his tail poked Shiro in his side.

Shiro startled awake and looked up at Vhex.

“Hey,” he said, his voice still thick with sleep. “What’s up?”

Vhex toed the ground. “I had another nightmare.”

“Do you want to talk about it? Or go watch something to distract you?”

Vhex quickly shook his head. “I- I just want to sleep, but I can’t cause I’ll have another nightmare.”

Shiro sat up carefully. “Do you want me to stay with you until you fall asleep?”

“No. I-” he flopped his arms to his sides and looked away, blushing. “Can I sleep with you tonight? I don’t want to be alone and I just want to sleep and I’m _ so tired _.”

Shiro blinked at Vhex. “Yeah, of course.” He scooted over. “Do you want to be closer to the door or the wall?”

Vhex looked at the bed and back to the door. He shrugged. “Does it really matter?”

“It does. If you sleep towards the door, you’re closer to the exit. But if you sleep next to the wall, you may feel more protected since I’m on the other side.”

Vhex pretended that his eyes didn’t water. In a small voice, he asked, “Can I be near the wall?”

Shiro smiled and made his way to the edge of his bed, turning down the covers over where Vhex would sleep.

Vhex crawled over Shiro, his tail tickling Shiro’s nose as he curled up facing the wall.

Shiro crawled back in and hesitated before rubbing his hand up and down Vhex’s back. He felt the Galra stiffen, then relax more under his hand, his tail wrapping loosely around his wrist. He continued to rub small circles until he could hear Vhex’s soft snoring. It was only then that he allowed himself to go back to sleep.

Vhex woke up early the next morning before Shiro’s alarm went off. He had at some point flipped over facing the room instead of the wall. Shiro was curled up in his side, his flesh arm slung across Vhex’s body. Vhex smiled as his tail tightened around Shiro’s thigh, a gentle squeeze that made Shiro sigh and snuggle deeper into his chest.

It was the first time he felt like he actually rested. Vhex looked down at the man sleeping in his arms and felt his heart swell. _ Bob, _ he wanted to give Shiro everything. He pulled Shiro close and easily fell back asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Direct link to Ex's [art](https://impendingexodus.tumblr.com/post/186802851532/my-second-piece-for-punkinpinkglitters-fic)


	4. Chapter 4

Vhex snuck back to their room while Shiro was swept away for another meeting. He looked around even though he knew he was alone and walked over to Shiro’s desk. He had found an object the last time they went to the market.

Shiro left him to his own devices, wanting to get some more food for their quarters. Vhex was looking on the mat of a nice looking vendor when he spotted a large, dark gray,  _ very shiny _ rock. Sure, it was attached to a metal loop, but he was sure Shiro could use the loop to hang it somewhere.

He placed the rock on top of Shiro’s personal data pad. He remembered something about Shiro leaving it in his room so he doesn’t get distracted while he’s in meetings. And that Vhex was free to use it to read up on whatever he wanted, but Vhex had his own data pad, so he didn’t use it much. He turned it this way and that, looking for the perfect angle to present it at. He flipped the stone, happy that the spotted reds, greens, and blues popped with the way the light glimmered off of it.

He stepped back and smiled. Shiro’s going to love it.

Shiro had liked his other gifts as well. Little things that reminded him of Shiro: a tattered picture of a sunset, a small furry cactus that surprised the both of them by blossoming a beautiful pink flower, a packet of what was said to be green tea which had somehow survived the war. Vhex loved seeing his eyes glimmer with memories as he gently held each piece in his hands.

Vhex’s ear twitched when he heard the door to the shared living space open.

He flattened himself against the wall, edging towards the door until he heard a fatigued sigh.

Popping off the wall, Vhex’s tail flicked excitedly as he bounded out of the room. “Shiro! You weren’t due back for hours.”

Shiro looked up from where he was toeing off his shoes. “Yeah, well, the Torxians decided they wanted the meeting at  _ night _ , and of course we  _ couldn’t offend them _ ,” Shiro rolled his eyes. “Luckily Allura’s offered to take the night negotiations and update us in the morning.”

Vhex nodded before taking a hesitant step forward, his tail wrapping around his thigh. “That means you have the evening off?”

Shiro looked over at Vhex and shrugged off his uniform jacket. “It seems like I do. Anything you want to do?”

Vhex walked over and sat down on the couch. “Maybe watch that movie you’ve been telling me about? The one with the shoes?”

“What,  _ Wizard of Oz _ ? I don’t have it in here. But, I do have  _ Beauty and the Beast _ \--and not the live-action remake. The original cartoon.”

Vhex squinted. “Cartoon…”

“An animated show. Like the thing they did with Voltron?”

“That was awful.”

“ _ So awful! _ ” Shiro roared with laughter.

Vhex starred at Shiro. He loved hearing the man laugh, seeing the small crinkles form next to his eyes and hearing the snorts he devolved into when he laughed too hard.

“Let’s get some dinner before we get into the movie,” Shiro suggested. “But let me change first.”

Vhex fidgeted in his seat. “Of course.”

Shiro smiled and walked to the bedroom. “Lucky for you, they made mac’n’cheese today! I’ve been waiting for it to come back into rotation.” Vhex’s ears flattened to hear Shiro as he bumped around the room. “It’s one of my favorites-especially when Hunk puts bacon in-”

Vhex held his breath, straining to hear Shiro.

“Vhex. What. What is this?” He came back out of his room, holding the stone. He stopped in front of Vhex.

“It’s a stone I found in the marketplace.” said Vhex. “It reminded me of you.”

“Vhex, this is a ring.”

The Galra tilted his head. “A ring?”

Shiro raked his human hand across his face. “In human customs, when two people really like each other, and they want to stay together for the remainder of their lives, they exchange rings. They wear the rings to show others that they are in a happily committed relationship.” He slid the ring on his finger, wiggling it in front of Vhex. It was a little loose, and the rock swung as he wiggled it. He brought his hand back down looking at the ring, and sighed.

Vhex’s tail wrapped around his waist and his ears pinned to his head.

Shiro took the ring off. “Vhex, did you only get this for me because it reminded you of me?”

Vhex slouched over, hugging himself and trying to make himself smaller.

“I was trying to court you.”

Shiro froze.

“Court me?”

Vhex nodded.

“In Galran customs, when one is interested in a mate, a, um, similar to what you explained. Someone we want to spend the foreseeable future with. When we find one, we court them. Bring them things to make them smile, try to show that we can provide for them. And if they want, they can court back, or reject it.”

“Reject? How does that work?”

Vhex’s ears drooped. “Depends on the Galra and how badly they want to humiliate the other. They could do anything from return the courting gifts, to destroying them, to publicly challenging them to a fight.”

Shiro sat gingerly next to Vhex and cupped his cheek with his floating hand, turning Vhex to face him. “And if they want to accept? Court back?”

Vhex straightened up slightly. “They would tell the courter that they accept and would like to continue to court.” He shrugged, looking away and trying to feign nonchalance. “Eventually, they would ask each other to be mates.”

Shiro tapped Vhex’s cheek to make him look at Shiro again. “I’d like to court you then.”

Vhex snapped to attention, his ears perking up and his tail unwrapping a bit. “Are- are you serious?”

Shiro smiled. “I am. The more I learn about you, the more I  _ want _ to learn. As long as my courting you is by Human standards. As much as I know about the Galra, I don’t really know much about courting and mating.”

“Anything you do will be good enough, and so very,  _ very _ well received, Shiro.”

“Call me Takashi.” Shiro slid his hand behind Vhex’s ear, scratching the fur behind it. Vhex’s eyes closed as he leaned into the feeling and let a purr escape his chest.

Shiro froze. He didn’t know Galra purred. Keith was half Galra and never purred before. His face softened as he started scratching again, watching Vhex melt and his tail flick with happiness.

He thought he felt this way once before, with Adam. But it had been such a long time; he never thought he’d feel this kind of happiness again. Vhex made him see the world in a different light, not quite as jaded and offset has he had since his resurrection. He had someone he could talk to who would understand the hurt of not being who you thought you were, and would be there when he dreamt of the gladiator pits. He felt lucky in that moment, having the large Galra show how completely vulnerable and out of his depths he was just for Shiro.

Shiro wanted to return the gesture. He wanted to show Vhex he thought of him the same way, that he was someone who deserved love as well.

The afternoon rolled on. They went to the cafeteria, sharing blushes across the table (Vhex  _ loved _ the mac’n’cheese. He surprised everyone when he ate an entire bucket full). After what ended up being a very full dinner, they resigned back to their quarters, putting on Beauty and the Beast.

Fitting, really. Shiro and Vhex both thought of each other as Belle, and themselves as the Beast the entirety of the movie, leaning into each other as it played.

At one point, Vhex found himself flat on the couch with his head in Shiro’s lap as the man scratched behind his ear. He purred again, warmth pooling in his chest as he felt his heart soar. Shiro wanted to court him.  _ Him! _ Shiro was so strong and capable, and didn’t need a mate, but he said he’d court him.

It was late when Vhex finally woke up with Shiro’s fingers tangled in the fur of his neck. He looked around, noting the movie was repeating its menu screen and the lights had automatically switched to night mode. He felt Shiro’s fingers tighten as he moved. Vhex smiled and wrapped his tail around Shiro’s wrist, tightening it enough that Shiro released his fur. He got up and stretched, popping his joints as he twisted and turned. His neck ached from sleeping on Shiro’s lap, but looking down at the smaller man made it worthwhile. He thumbed the line of drool off of Shiro’s chin before he lifted him and carried him to the bedroom. Shiro barely stirred as Vhex put him down on the bed, only moving closer as Vhex laid down behind him. Vhex wrapped his arms and tail around Shiro, enticing a sigh out of him. It was music to Vhex’s ears. He had to think of something else to show Shiro how much he meant to him.

Shiro peeked into the oven, looking at the beans baking. Hunk told him to put them in at 250° for 15 minutes. He thought that making chocolate would be easy. But these seemed to be burning.

“Hunk?” Shiro called. “Why are they burning?”

“What temperature did you put them in at?” Hunk asked while whisking away at whatever purple food was in his bowl.

“250?”

“Fahrenheit or Celsius?”

A chill when down Shiro’s spine. “Hunk, you never told me which one to use.”

“Shiro, which one did you use?”

“I just used whatever this oven normally uses,” he pouted, crossing his arms at the insinuation.

“Shiro, you have to input that. We have people who use different ones here.” Hunk passed his bowl to another person and walked over to Shiro, poking at the settings on the oven. He sighed as he rolled his eyes. “You have it on Celsius, Shiro. You  _ know _ better!”

Shiro hung his head in shame and toed the floor as Hunk turned the oven off. “I’m sorry. I just really wanted to make some chocolate for Vhex. He’d really like it.”

Hunk smiled and put a hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “Look, you helped me and Ryan get together, so I’m gonna do you a solid. I’ll do everything but grind it together. Once I get to that point, I’ll call you, okay?”

“Can I ask why? Why do I have to grind it?”

Hunk looked down at Shiro’s floating arm. “Does that thing ever get tired?”

“No, not really. How’s this relevant?”

“Because you’ll be grinding it in a mortar and pestle. And you’ll do it for a few hours; I can’t do it for long. Go get a good book to read or movies to watch. And be back in about 45 minutes.”

Shiro beamed. “Thank you, Hunk. I appreciate it.”

Hunk waved him off as he started bustling around the kitchen, forcing Shiro out. Shiro found himself in the hall, lost. He had his instructions, sure, but he was trying to avoid Vhex until later that night when he could give him some homemade chocolate.

He took his time meandering the halls of the Atlas, avoiding his room and the training deck, seeing as those were the places he'd be more likely to see the Galra he was avoiding. He figured his office was the safest place to pick up his data pad and made his way towards it. He was just around the corner when he heard low voices coming from the area he was headed.

“What do you mean, you’re trying to get into his office?”  _ Keith? What was he doing there? _

“I wanted to leave something on his desk. Kashi said he was in meetings all day…”

Shiro plastered himself against the wall.  _ Shit. Vhex! _

“Did he now?”

“Mmhmm. He said he was gonna be gone all day but we’d have dinner together. But I wanted to give him this thing I found. I think he’d like it.”

Shiro held his breath as Keith examined whatever it was that Vhex was showing him.

“I think he’d like it, yeah.” He heard the telltale swish of his door open. “Be quick. Oh, you don’t have anything planned right now, do you?”

A muffled  _ no, why _ came from inside the room.

“Lance is running a poker game in a little bit, and I wanted to clean him out. Wanna join?”

A clatter rang out and Shiro poked his head around the corner. Keith had leaned into the room.

“Don’t break stuff, he’ll know you were in there!”

“I didn’t mean to! Was this important?”

Shiro strained to hear more.

Keith sighed. “It’s just a desk lamp, so no. Let’s just clean up and leave, okay? I don’t know how long you’ll have until he comes back here.”

Shiro knew a lucky break when he heard one and took off in the other direction towards his room. He kept thinking of what Vhex got for him this time. Vhex was good at finding things that reminded him of Shiro, the fire opal, a compass, an old star map.

He sighed when he got to his room. He knew Vhex loved poker ever since Keith started teaching him. He never turned down a game. He grabbed the data card with Lord of the Rings on it and loaded it into his data pad. He opened the title page to make sure it was working when a message from Hunk rang through.

**Hunk** : Shiro, it’s ready for grinding. Come down to the kitchen. I’ve also found a little room I can set you up in right next door.

The next day, Vhex found himself 100 GAC richer and in the hydroponics bay. He was looking at all the plants in wonder. So much variety. A tap on his shoulder blade made him jump.

“Can I help you?” a small woman asked.

“Oh! I- I’m sorry, am I not allowed to be in here?” Vhex’s ears drooped and he held his tail.

The woman smiled. “You’re allowed. I’m Colleen. Are you looking for anything?”

“I want to make a meal for Shiro,” he began as he relaxed. “But I don’t want to go out hunting, and I’m not a great cook. So I wanted to make a um… salad? I think that’s what he called it.”

“Would you like some help? I can tell you what’s edible to humans and what isn’t.”

“That would be great!” Vhex’s tail swished behind him as Colleen lead him through to what she referred to as the “edible area”. Vegetables and spices galore, and even mini fruit trees. But everything edible with little to no processing would be over in this area marked with a pink tag. Colleen told him to find her if he needed anything else.

Vhex walked around smelling each of the plants before picking a few. Several of them reminded him of Galran foods, and he took a sprig or a few chunks of leaves with him as he went. He looked at his progress. This smelled like a traditional Galran meal that anyone would be proud to receive. A meal that showed how much Shiro was worth to him. Most only got it on the anniversary of being mated, but Shiro didn’t know that and Vhex wanted to show him how much he thought of Shiro.

He put everything in a bag, thanked Colleen profusely, and set off to their quarters.

Shiro was running late. His last meeting of the day was a cluster fuck and as much as he and Allura tried to get everything moving, Kolivan needed to go over every detail so the Blades weren’t caught off guard for their next mission. He made a run for the kitchen to find Hunk huddled in the corner working on something with Pidge. He approached and cleared his throat, making the pair jump.

“Is it ready?” he asked nervously.

“Yeah. Pidge brought a box so you can hand them over and not use tupperware, because what are you an animal?” Pidge nodded solemnly behind Hunk as she handed a gold box over to Shiro, with a little bow tied around it. “We didn’t do anything. Lance saw me packing them up, though, and wanted them, but I wouldn’t let him take any. I think he’s jealous that you could do the grinding for hours.”

Shiro smiled. “Thank you so much! I’m late, though, so I’ll see you.”

“Let us know if it made him drop his drawers for you!!” Pidge called after him. Shiro and Hunk both turned scarlet. He heard Hunk chastise her, and thought Hunk had it under control, so he rushed out to his room, tapping away at his data pad.

**Takashi** : Just got out. Will be there in a few minutes.

He tried to get the Atlas to move his room closer, but the ship was pointedly silent to him.  _ Fine, be that way _ .

He made it in record time to his room, slamming his human hand on the scanner and floating his mechanical arm behind him, trying to hide the chocolates.

The door swooshed open and Vhex ran in front of the table. “Takashi! Didn’t think you’d be here for another minute or two.”

Shiro strolled in, smiling, a sway in his hips as he approached the Galra. “I made something for you,” he purred. “Well, I  _ helped _ make it.”

Vhex’s eyes shined with surprise. “For me?”

“Mmhmm. Close your eyes and hold out your hands.”

Vhex immediately put his hands out and closed his eyes, using his tail to help cover them. It swished in front of his face, betraying his excitement.

Shiro smiled and placed the heart shaped box in his hands, which seemed to dwarf the box even more. “Okay, you can open them.”

Vhex dropped his tail and stared in confusion. “A box?”

“You have to open it,” Shiro snickered.

Vhex looked down and carefully took the bow off. He put it on Shiro’s nose, which made them both smile, and opened it. There were a dozen little pieces of chocolate sitting in the box, all looking shiny and delicious. Vhex’s heart jumped into his throat. He loved chocolate. It had been his favorite thing since he was taken aboard the Atlas. And Shiro made them for  _ him _ . Tears swelled in his eyes.

“They look delicious, Takashi. Can I have one?”

“Of course you can!”

He took out a piece, popping it in his mouth. His eyes flew wide. “You made this? It’s so good!”

Shiro absolutely beamed. “I helped. It’s a different chocolate bean than you’re used to. Hunk got them the last time he traveled across the world.”

“I love it, thank you! Would you like one?”

Shiro nodded quickly. He didn’t have a chance to taste any before he got here. Vhex proffered the box, Shiro accepting quickly. It was still chocolate. It wasn’t as sweet as milk chocolate, but that was to be expected. Thankfully it wasn’t spicy. Shiro’s stomach didn’t like spicy food much.

“I’m glad you like it,” he said through a full mouth.

“I have something for you, too. I made you dinner!” Vhex’s tail wrapped around Shiro’s human arm, tugging him forward slightly. “Will you close your eyes as well?”

Shiro closed is eyes, allowing himself to be sat down. He heard something rustle in front of him and a  _ fuck, stay there _ muttered under Vhex’s breath. He tried not to snicker.

“Okay. You can open them.”

Shiro looked at the plate in front of him and noted how tense Vhex was beside him.

On the plate, was mounds of rosemary still on their twigs, basil leaves, sage branches, a small bundle of parsley, a whole potato, a whole tomato, a few green onions (roots included), and a habanero pepper.

“I tried to make you a salad, but I don't know what’s in those. So I smelt around, and these all together smell like Vrat’kalis.”

“It smells delicious, but Vhex, most of these are herbs. They’re used to season food, and you only use a small amount at a time.” Vhex’s ears drooped. Shiro stood up and wrapped his arms around the Galra’s waist. “Just because I can’t really eat it, doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate this. You took a lot of time to share something that means something to you, and I love it. I wish to eat the real thing one day.”

Vhex leaned down and rubbed his nose along Shiro’s cheek. “Just seeing you happy is enough for me. One day, if we ever go to Daibazaal, I’ll make you the real thing. I swear it.” He pressed his forehead against Shiro’s and closed his eyes.

“I know you will.”

They stood there for a moment until Shiro felt Vhex start to pull away. He took every ounce of courage and pushed himself forward, sealing their lips together. Vhex froze for a second, but melted into the kiss. Shiro smiled. They may have to find something else to eat, but for now, everything was good. Vhex was here, Vhex was  _ kissing _ him, and it was everything he hoped it would be.

He couldn’t wait for more.


	5. Chapter 5

Shiro paced nervously as he waited for Matt to finally make his way to Shiro’s quarters. He had already emptied his wardrobe all over the bed twice before giving up and calling his best friend. Okay, well, his second best friend, because his first best friend was currently occupied with the object of Shiro’s affection.

Shiro had asked Vhex to come with him out to the desert- more specifically a “place where we can see the stars really well.” He was going to bring him to the remains of a city abandoned when Sendak’s forces invaded. The stars were clearest there for some reason. He also figured they’d have a better chance of finding patches of grass in an abandoned city than going out into the actual desert. He stalked back to his bathroom to brush his teeth again.

To say he was nervous was an understatement. He was finally going to tell Vhex how he felt. Sure, they both knew that they liked each other, but Shiro had fallen so far and hard for his clone. But he wasn’t _ just _ a clone. Vhex was different and _ fuck _if Shiro didn’t find him the most beautiful, endearing thing in the world.

As he rinsed his mouth out, he heard his door swish open and shut. “Fucking finally,” he muttered. “Matt! What took you so long?”

“Sorry, dude. I was, um, catching up with Keith and he got a call from Vhex, then got a call from you, then _ I _ got the call from you. We decided to finish ‘catching up’ before we left.”

Shiro’s eyes narrowed. “Catching up?”

Matt’s face heated up as he tried smoothing out his hair. “Yes?”

Shiro decided he had enough of it. He needed Matt’s help now. “You have cum on your cheek. Go wash it off and help me.”

Matt’s eyes widened in shock as he flew to the bathroom. He came out moments later looking an equal mix of angry and shameful. “So now that _ that’s _ out of the way, how can I help you?”

_ Okay, we’ll come back to the whole Keith thing later, _ Shiro thought. _ Me first. _

“I need help picking clothes for tonight.”

Matt stroked his chin between his thumb and index finger in thought. “Where are you going again?”

“Stargazing.” Shiro flopped on the bed. “We’re taking the bike out down to Maricopa. It was destroyed and hasn’t been rebuilt, so I figured we’ll have some good places to pick from. There used to be grass there in some areas.”

Matt walked over to his closet, opening it and shuffling passed all the uniforms to his formal clothes. “Then you don’t want the button down and vest again. Too dressy. Especially for the bikes.” He grabbed a leather jacket. “How about this? Wait… is this the one you wore pre-Kerb?”

“‘_Pre-Kerb _’? What the fuck, Matt?!”

“It’s slang, and all the hip kids are using it. But the question still stands: do you fit it?” Matt slung the jacket over to Shiro, who caught it. He stared at the piece with nostalgia making his vision swim.

“No, I can’t. It would look good on Keith though. When you see him next, would you give it to him?”

Matt lit up like a Christmas tree. “Sure! But back to you. Jeans, t shirt. Actually, a long sleeved shirt.” Matt walked over to Shiro’s dresser, abandoning the closet for more laid back clothes he knows are neatly folded in the drawers. He searched until he came across a deep green henley. “Here. Just roll the sleeves- uh… _ sleeve _ up over your forearm. He’ll love it.” He went back and started searching for pants. “Shiro, go get your boots...the clunky ones that you like.”

“They’re not clunky,” Shiro pouted. He meandered to the closet as he heard a soft _ aha _ and the thump of what he could only assume were pants landing on the bed. He turned to see a pair of dark blue jeans strewn on top of the shirt.

Matt wiggled his eyebrows. “These ones’ll show off your ass better.”

“I don’t _ need _ to show off my ass, Matt. I want him to like me for me.”

“He already likes you for your brain. Now you need to show off your body.”

“Matt-” he started, shaking his head.

“No, Shiro,” he said, walking over to Shiro and shoving his finger into his chest. “You need to stop this. He’s literally a clone of you. He’s not intimidating. Have you seen him? He’s a puppy! I bet he wags his tail!”

Shiro blushed and looked away. He wasn’t going to tell him that Vhex’s tail was more like a cat and flicked more than it wagged. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“No, but I know what Keith tells me, and it’s the same as you, except that you make him into this big scary purple cat alien when he’s just a big fluffy purple puppy alien who has feelings for you.”

Shiro kicked at the foot of his bed. “It’s not that simple, Matt.”

“But it is!” 

Shiro looked up through his lashes at Matt, giving him his saddest kicked-puppy look.

Matt sighed and sat on the bed. “Trust me. You trusted me before.” He hung his head, sighing.

Hesitantly Shiro asked, “What do I tell him?”

Matt perked up. “What you feel. Make it up on the fly. If you go in with this big speech prepared, you’re going to get nervous and fuck it up. Just… tell him.”

Shiro smiled gently. “Yeah, okay.”

A silence fell between them. But it was never just quiet with Matt in the room. “You better tell me how big he is.”

Shiro burst out into laughter. “Oh my GOD, MATT! You can’t just say that! Now get out, I have to get ready.”

“I’ll be in your living room, good sir.” Matt mock-bowed as he left, leaving Shiro alone.

_ Just tell him. Sure. _

Vhex knocked on Keith’s door, shifting from one foot to the other anxiously. Keith said to give him 15 minutes before coming down to him, and that he’d have a bunch of clothes for him to try on (again, since they’d done this for previous dates). Vhex’s only condition was he got to wear the shoes he found that apparently everyone but him thought was ugly. He thought they were cool. He toed the ground until the door in front of him swooshed open.

“Hey,” Keith said, standing aside and letting the Galra in.

Vhex sniffed as he passed Keith and paused, narrowing his eyes at him.

“I know, keep going. I haven’t had time to shower,” clipped Keith.

Vhex sat on Keith’s small couch. “So you and the small one’s brother?”

“It’s… new,” he said hesitantly. “How about we focus on you? Any ideas for tonight?”

“I’m keeping my shoes.”

Keith smiled. “Besides your shoes.”

Vhex shrugged, watching Keith as he walked to his bedroom and returned with a giant pile of clothes. “I found a bunch of clothes that I think you’d like.” He threw the pile onto Vhex’s lap, making him sputter in surprise. “Pick a few things out.”

Vhex pouted as he shoved the pile of clothes onto the other side of the couch. He dug through it, finding a pair of ripped up skinny jeans and a dark threadbare shirt. He smiled and petted the shirt. It was soft, he’d give it that. And it would show off the amethyst stone on the necklace Shiro had gotten him. “Would these be okay?”

“Dunno, what’re you guys doing?”

Vhex smiled. “Stargazing. He’s taking me on the hoverbike.”

Keith rolled his eyes and dug through the pile. “You’ll need something a little heavier if you’re going on the bike. The way Shiro drives, you’ll be lucky if you don’t get windburn.” He grabbed a thick long-sleeved shirt that had been hiding at the bottom of the heap and threw it at Vhex. “There. This’ll look good with those jeans. And it’s blue, so it sort of matches your fur.”

Vhex caught the garment with ease, frowning. It wasn’t soft, but it’d do. “Can I still keep this other shirt? It’s soft…” he trailed off, holding everything.

“Sure, just go try on the shirt and jeans, okay?”

Vhex nodded. Excitement coursed through him as he went to change in Keith’s bedroom. Shiro was so special to him. He wanted to make sure he knew that. Sure they were courting, but Vhex wanted so much more. He wanted to wake up knowing Shiro’d never have to worry again, would always be taken care of and loved. And it finally hit him that _ he _ was the one that was going to do that. He needed to tell Shiro how he felt.

Tonight.

Vhex was still clinging tightly to Shiro’s back as they came upon the ruins of the old city. Shiro expertly maneuvered between the decrepit buildings and under broken street lights. He slowed down when they came to a clearing, the remains of a building scattered across the field. There were no lights besides those of the sinking sun and the hoverbike, which luckily Shiro expected. When they parked, Vhex uncurled himself, ears popping away from his head when he removed his helmet. Shiro watched with glee as his tail slowly unfurled from its deathgrip around his waist. _ Must have been scared. I shouldn’t have jumped that cliff I guess. _ He grabbed the box where he had stored their dinner (that _ neither _ of them cooked), spreading it out on the grass.

Vhex sat down and looked up at Shiro. “So, stargazing _ and _ dinner? You’re spoiling me.”

“It’s just sandwiches and chips,” he said, heat rising to his cheeks. They ate quietly, sneaking looks at each other.

“It’s beautiful out here,” Vhex said as they watched the sun dip below the horizon. It was weird. They were surrounded in ruins and rubble of buildings, but there was grass and wildflowers blooming spreading from the nearby canal. Vhex took off his shoes, letting the grass rub between his giant toes. He smiled. “The grass feels great.”

Shiro smiled. “It’s even more beautiful when it’s fully dark. We should be able to see the Milky Way tonight.”

“The Milky Way? Why is there a way of milk in the sky?”

Shiro snickered and moved to sit next to Vhex. “It’s not milk in the sky, it just looks like it. It’s actually our galaxy. There are just so many stars in it that it looks like a hazy spill of milk in the sky.”

Vhex let out a low _ oh _ and watched the sky. Little by little, more and more stars flickered to life. He started to pant. _ Bob _ it was hot out here. “Do you mind if I take off this shirt,” he asked shyly. “It’s hot, and with so much fur…” he trailed off. He pinned his ears against his head with shame.

“Of course. You should be comfortable.” Shiro watched as Vhex peeled himself out of the long sleeved shirt and snickered when the latent static fluffed his fur up. He eyed the Galra hungrily and made an aborted motion towards him. He was covered in dirt from their drive out here. “Mind if I join you? It _ is _ really hot… But it should cool down, now that the sun is down.”

Vhex nodded. “Yeah, sure. I don’t mind. It’s just us, right?”

Shrio strippded his henley off, thankful for the brief relief of a cool breeze crossing his chest. He went to lean against Vhex again, but was stopped. “What’s wrong.”

“It’s nothing, I was just- I thought. Maybe… Can you… Can I move you somewhere more comfortable?”

Hurt flashed across Shiro’s face, but was quickly covered by a smile. “Of course. Where would you like me?”

Strong hands wrapped around Shiro’s waist and picked him up, effortlessly placing Shiro between Vhex’s legs. All of the blood in Shiro’s head rushed south, effectively making his brain short out. Vhex looked concerned when Shiro finally realized that the hands were gone and looked up. Shiro smiled. “I like it here.” He snuggled back into Vhex’s soft, fur covered chest. “You’re comfy and hey. It’s easier to point out the constellations this way.”

Vhex finally relaxed and leaned back against the remains of a wall. “Takashi?”

“Hmm?”

Vhex hesitated. He didn’t know how to broach the subject of their courting. But Shiro seemed to pick up on his worry. 

He looked up behind him. “You’re amazing, you know that?” Shiro said. “I can’t believe I’ve fallen for such an amazing being.”

Vhex blushed and his tail twitched against the ground. “You- do you mean that?”

Shiro nodded. “I do. I,” he took a deep breath. “I love you Vhex. So much.” He felt Vhex’s heart rate shoot up.

Vhex’s lower lip quivered slightly. “I love you too. I can’t see myself with anyone but you, Kashi. You’re everything to me.” He wrapped his arms tightly around Shiro’s broad shoulders, nuzzling into his shoulder. He whispered, “Mine.”

Shiro tried to return the hug, but all he could do was press back against Vhex and wind his hand through Vhex’s fur. “Yours.”

Vhex let go after a few more moments and leaned back, his tail gently flicking. Shiro had never seen him this relaxed. Shiro looked at the sky and pointed. “There’s the Milky Way, and if you look over there, you’ll see one of my favorite constellations, Hercules.”

“It’s beautiful,” Vhex breathed.

Shiro looked behind him and saw the stars in Vhex’s eyes. “Yeah, beautiful.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been so blessed with Ex's art. Here's the [link](https://impendingexodus.tumblr.com/post/186802965712/aaaand-the-3rd-piece-for-punkinpinkglitter-for) to this last piece.


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